Family drinking glass identifying support



Nov. 18, 1969 L M 0 Pa TUVWXY A 52 wxvz AB .57

L. L. WATKINS FAMILY DRINKING GLASS IDENTIFYING SUPPORT Filed Nov. 13, 1967 VII/A I INVENTOR Magma-Z- fire/#5 MMZ/m ATTORNEYS 3,478,457 FAMILY DRINKING GLASS IDENTIFYING SUPPORT Laverne L. Watkins, 2205 Belair Drive, Bowie, Md. Filed Nov. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 682,288 Int. Cl. G09f 11/02; A47b 73/00, 81/04 US. Cl. 40-324 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A support for family drinking glasses is disclosed which includes a housing having a plurality of flat-bottomed depressions therein for positioning and supporting drinking glasses, a front wall which includes a plurality of apertures therethrough in corresponding juxtaposition to the depressions in the top of the housing, a plurality of relatively disposed wheels mounted in the housing having indicia on the periphery thereof and means for supporting and selectively positioning the wheels such that selected sets of indicia may be displayed through each of the apertures so as to identify the glass supported 1n the depression as belonging to a particular person.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to supports and more particularly to special article supports for drinking glass wherein means are provided for identifying the user of each drinking glass.

Description of the prior art It is well known in the prior art to provide supporting devices of several kinds which include identifying indicia; however, each of the devices of the prior art includes certain disadvantages and none are applicable to the supporting of a plurality of drinking glasses such that each person in a family will be able to identify his own glass and which provides a space for each person to place his glass. Exemplary of the prior art are inventions shown in the United States patents and publications described herein. United States Patent No. 1,557,598, Luly et a1., discloses a display holder for bottled goods which includes a depression for holding bottles and means for securing the bottles therein but no identifying means is disclosed or suggested. A rotary toothbrush holder is described in United States Patent No. 1,720,061, issued to Schmitt. Conventional merchandise price and identifying devices for jars and the like are disclosed in United States Patent No. 1,730,439, Patent No. 1,952,937, 2,585,- 420 and 2,629,951. Such devices are generally constructed for being secured either above or below a supporting shelf of the type usually found in merchandising establishments. These devices range from simple holders for cards to rotary numeral selectors. Rotary letter selectors and numeral selectors are, in general rather well known as indicated by United States Patent No. 2,177,978,

United States Patent No. 2,492,891 and the aforementioned Patent No. 2,629,951. Further, it is not, in itself, novel to provide various types of depressions, apertures, holes and like constructions for supporting individual containers as is illustrated by United States Patent Nos. 2,841,114 and 2,575,661. None of the inventions described in the prior art or suggested therein, however, are applicable for family use. It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to provide an improved special article support for family glasses wherein identifying means are provided for each of the individual glasses supported thereon, such identifying means being changeable at will.

United States Patent O SUMMARY It is well known in the prior art and is common eX- perience that various types of disease germs and bacteria may be passed from one member of the family to another through the use of a common eating or drinking vessel. One of the most common sources of cross contagion between members of a family results from the use of a common drinking glass. It is suggested, as a matter of good hygiene, that each person refrain from using any dish or drinking glass which has previously been used by another person. Considerable difiiculty, however, results where there are a number of individuals in a family who may use a drinking glass several times a day. It becomes necessary to provide a large number of glasses with the attendant necessity of maintaining such glasses in a proper state of cleanliness. It is also recognized that there is no significant disadvantage in the use of a single drinking glass more than once by the same person. Thus, if means are provided for identifying the users glass such that he may use it again, there is substantially no likelihood of cross communication of diseases between members of a family. It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to provide an improved support especially designed and adapted for supporting drinking glasses for family members and for identifying each of the glasses as belonging to a particular member of the family by using the family members initials. Of course, it will be understood that the same device may be used in oflices and commercial facilities where it is desired to provide a number of glasses for employees.

Briefly, and without limiting the concept and scope of the invention, the present special support may be described as a specially designed elongate housing having a top member which has an upper surface with depressions formed therein for positioning and supporting drinking glasses and a front wall with apertures corresponding to each of the depressions. Inside the housing there are a plurality of relatively rotatable wheels each of which carry indicia on the periphery thereof. Means are provided for positioning the wheels relative to each other and to the housing in a fixed predetermined relationship such as to display a selected set of indicia through the apertures in the front wall. It is, accordingly, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved support for glasses which includes depressions in the top surface and apertures in a front wall through which identifying indicia are displayed.

A further and important object of the invention is the provision of novel means for locking display wheels in position for exhibiting a selected set of indicia through an aperture.

The specific combination of elements and constructions disclosed herein also constitute important facets and objects of the invention. Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the drawing to which reference is made and to the description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the invention showing the overall construction and the relation of the exterior components and constructions and the positioning of drinking glasses thereon.

FIGURE 2 is an end cross-sectional view taken substantialy along 22 in FIGURE 1 looking in the direction of the arrows and showing an inside view of the construction of the display wheels in the housing, the outer surface of the indicia wheels relative to each other and to the housing being illustrated.

FIGURE 3 is an end cross-sectional view taken substantialy along lines 33 in the direction of the arrows as shown in FIGURE 1 showing in detail the cross-sectional configuration and construction of the Wheels of FIGURE 2 and the means for locking the wheels relatively in position.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken similarly along lines 33 showing an alternative construction of the indicia Wheels and the means for securing them in relatively fixed position.

FIGURE is also a cross-sectional view taken substantially along lines 33 showing a second alternative construction and means for maintaining the wheels in relatively fixed position, the exterior of the indicia wheels illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5 having an appearance similar to that shown in FIGURE 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention includes a housing which has a top member having an upper surface shown at 12, a front wall member or portion 14, an end wall portion 16 and another end wall portion of like construction not shown and a rear wall portion 18. The housing has a longitudinal axis extending between the end 16 and the corresponding other end, a transverse axis extending between the front and rear walls 14 and 18, and a vertical axis extending upwardly from the bottom of the housing to the top member 12.

The top member has formed in the upper surface thereof a plurality of depressions 20, 22, 24 and 26, of which there may be any desired number, each of the depressions being so formed and constructed as to have a substantially flat bottom for receiving and fixing the position of drinking glasses 28, 32 and 34 respectively. Thus, the drinking glasses are always returned or placed in a fixed position. The front wall 14 has a plurality of apertures 36, 38, and 42 extending therethrough for displaying indicia as will be described. The indicia as shown in FIGURE 1, are displayed through the apertures such that each drinking glass is identified by means of three letters, which may represent the initials of the user of the glass. Since the apertures are in corresponding juxtaposition to the depressions in the top, it will be apparent that each of the depressions is identified by a set of initials or indicia and, consequently, a glass positioned in any of the depressions is likewise identified.

Reference is now made to FIGURE 2 and FIGURE 3 wherein the indicia display system is shown in greater detail. Extending from the bottom of the depressed portion of the top member shown at 22 is a downwardly extending boss means 46. Wheel 48 includes an upwardly extending boss means 50. Wheels 52 and 54, are respectively, disposed below wheel 48, the wheels being in a vertically aligned disposition being held in place by a screw or bolt of any desired type shown at 56. Obviously, a thumbscrew on the end of a bolt may be used if desired and would be the full equivalent of the construction shown.

A plurality of corresponding notches and teeth, shown at 58 in FIGURE 3, are formed on the bosses 46 and 50. Similarly, complementary notches and teeth are formed on the adjacent sites of wheels 48 and 52, shown at 60, and 52 and 54, shown at 62. The complementary notches and teeth on the adjacent sides of the respective wheels for engaging the notches and teeth on the next adjacent wheel and the means on the other surface of the housing top and the upper surface of the top wheel which form cor-responding notches and teeth for engagement therebetween, fix the position respectively, of the individual wheels and of the entire set of wheels relative to the aperture, such that a selected set of indicia, for example, K, S, W, in aperture 36, C, A, W, in aperture 38, etc., is displayed through each of the apertures. The set of indicia may represent the initials of a member of the family and, of course, would identify the drinking glass used by that member of the family.

In order to set the indicia, it is necessary only to loosen or remove the bolt or screw 56, move the wheels to the desired position and tighten the bolt or screw 56 again to lock each of the wheels respectively and all of the wheels as a set in the desired position.

FIGURE 4 discloses an alternative means for securing the wheels in the desired relation. A boss 64 extends downwardly from the underside of the top member. Wheels 66, 68 and 70 are positionel in vertical alignment therebelow. These wheels are held in position by a bolt 72 which, like bolt 56, forms the axle for the wheels. A friction washer is positioned between the boss 64 and the wheel 66, the washer being shown at 74. Similarly, friction washers 76 and 78 are positioned between the respective wheels 66 and 68, and 68 and 70. An anti-friction washer 80 may be positioned between the head of the bolt 72 and bottom side of wheel 70. Thus, it is necessary only to release the pressure of the wheels from bolt 72, rotate the wheels to the desired position, and to tighten the bolt 72 again. Since the washers 74, 76 and 78 are of the friction type, which may be roughened, corrugated, or made simply of a high friction material such as felt or paper or the like or rubber, there will be no relative movement between the wheels once the bolt 72 is tightened. Thus, a selected set of indicia will be displayed through the aperture and may not be moved without going through the process just described.

Yet an alternative embodiment is shown in FIGURE 5 wherein a boss 82 extends downwardly from the underside of the upper member and a plurality of wheels 84, 86 and 88 are in vertical alignment therebelow. The boss 82 and the wheels 84 and 86 each include a plurality of openings or holes extending upwardly thereinto shown at 90, 92 and 94, said holes corresponding to the respective indicia on the peripheral surface thereof. In the preferred embodiment, each of the holes is in radial alignment with a particular indicia element on the periphery of the respective wheel. The wheels 84, 86 and 88 each includes an upwardly extending protuberance shown at 96, 98 and 100, which may be received in any one of the selected openings such as 90, 92 and 94 on an adjacent face. The wheels are held in position by means of the supporting :bolt and axle 102 and a washer 104. Thus, it is necessary only to release the pressure on the wheels by loosening the bolt 102 and positioning the protuberances in the respective openings to fix the indicia which are displayed through the aperture 36.

Thus, it will be seen that by any of the means just described it is possible to fix a selected set of indicia for being displayed through the aperture in the front wall of the housing for identifying the depression in juxtaposition to the housing and, consequently, for identifying the glass resting in the depression.

While the embodiment described herein and the variations described are the preferred embodiments, it will be apparent that departures from the actual construction described may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A family drinking glass identifier which, in combination, comprises:

an elongate housing having longitudinal, transverse and vertical axes and including a top surface and a front wall surface, said top member having a plurality of relatively flat-bottomed depressions in the upper surface thereof so constructed as to receive the base of a drinking glass therein, said front wall having at least one aperture therethrough corresponding to each of the depressions;

a plurality of indicia carrying wheels secured by mounting means in relatively vertical disposition adjacent each of the apertures such that a different set of seleeted indicia may be displayed through each of the apertures to identify the glass in the depression corresponding thereto with the user of the glass; and

means for selectively fixing each vertical set of wheels in a desired position for fixing the set of indicia displayed through the aperture in the front wall of the housing. 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the means for mounting the wheels in vertical position comprises:

an elongate vertically disposed axle member upon which the wheels are received. 3. The invention of claim 2 wherein the means for selectively fixing the set of wheels comprises:

complementary notches and teeth on adjacent sides of the respective wheels for engaging the respective notches and teeth on the adjacent wheel for fixing the relative position of the wheels and means on the under surface of the housing top and the upper surface of the top wheel forming corresponding notches and teeth for engagement to fix the position of the entire set of wheels relative to the aperture. 4. The invention of claim 2 wherein the means for selectively fixing the set of wheels comprises:

rigid friction washers between the wheels and between the top wheel and the housing for preventing relative motion. 5. The invention of claim 2 wherein the means for selectively fixing the set of wheels comprises:

means on the under surface of the top member having a plurality of openings therein, said openings corresponding to the respective indicia on the wheels, each of the upper two wheels having openings in the underside thereof corresponding to the respective indicia, and each of the wheels further including an upwardly extending protuberance for selectively being engaged in a desired opening in the next upper wheel or means on the top member respectively to thereby fix the relative positions of the wheels and the position of all of the wheels with respect to the respective aperture in the front wall of the housing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,952,937 3/1934 Pilato 312F234- X 2,576,560 11/ 1951 Bidmon 312-206 3,409,144 11/1968 Bridgman 21175 X FOREIGN PATENTS 11,352 1906 Great Britain.

EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner WILLIAM H. GRIEB, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

